Rotary-engine.



J. H. WATsoN.

ROTARY ENGINE. l APPLICATION FILED JULY 12, 1910..

THE NoRRls persas co. u :Hmcramm'm Patented Feb. .21, 1911.

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J. H. WATSON. RUTARY ENGINE. APPLmATIoNvx-ILBD JULY'12, 1910.

984,983. patented Feb.21,19141.

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'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES HENRY WATSON, 0F RIVERTON, WYOMING.

ROTARY ENGINE.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, JAMES H. WATSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rivertom. in the county of Fremont and State of Wyoming, have invented a new and Improved Rotary Engine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.`

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved rotary engine, arranged to utilize the motive agent to the fullest advantage and to properly govern the speed of the engine.

In order to produce the desired result, use is made of a cylinder provided on its inner surface with spirally-arranged cavities for the motiveV agent to pass in, and a rotor mounted to turn in the said cylinder and having heads in the form of revoluble star wheels in mesh with the said cavities.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the rotary engine, the section being on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional side elevation 0f the cylinder; Fig. 4; is a face view of one of the rotary heads of the rotor; Fig. 5 is an edge view o-f the same; Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of the rotor sections; Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation of the same; and Fig. 8 is a face view of one of the admission valves.

The cylinder. A lof the rotary engine is provided with cylinder heads B, B, and in the said cylinder A is mounted to turn a rotor C, preferably made in sections attached to the hollow arms D of the engine shaft D, journaled in the heads B, B, and provided at one outer end with a fly wheel or a pulley E, for transmitting the rotary motion of the engine to other machinery. The other end D2 of the shaft D is made hollow, and connected with the hollow arms D to form a passage for the exhaust motive agent, the terminal of the hollow shaft end D2, leading to an exhaust chamber F, at tached to the outer end of the cylinder head B, and provided with an lexhaust pipe F.

The interior surface ofthe cylinder A is provided with spirally-arranged cavities A,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 12, 1910.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

Serial No. 571,601.

widest at the middle and narrowing at the ends, the cavities overlapping each other, as plainly indicated inFig. 3. In meshing contact with the cavities A are rotor heads G, in the form of star wheels, disposed radially relative to the rotor C, and the said rotor heads G have their shafts G journaled in the rotor C, as plainly indicated in Fig. 2. The teeth of the rotor heads G have spiral faces (see Figs. l and 5), corresponding and fitting into the cavities A in the cylinder A, so that when the rotor is rotated in the direction of the arrow a (see Fig. 2), then the rotor heads G advance in the cavities A and are rotated by meshing contact with the same.

In the rotor C inthe rear of the rotor heads Gr are formed admission chambers I-I having ports H leading to the peripheral face of the rotor C, to supply the cavities A with live motive agent, and the said chambers H are connected with an annular groove I, formed in the cylinder head B and leading to a channel I extending lengthwise in the cylinder head B, and con` nected with a supply pipe I2 connected with a boiler or other motive agent supply. Each of the admission portsfH is in the form of a series of apertures (see Fig. 6), adapted to be opened and closed by the graduated lugs J of an admission valve J, controlling the passage of the live motive agent from thechambers H to the cavities A of the cylinder A. Each admission valve J is provided at one end with an arm J 2 attached to a shaft or a pivot J3, journaled in the rotor C, and on the shaft J 3 is secured an arm K connected with a link K extending through the corresponding hollow arm D of the engine shaft D. The inner end of each link K is .pivotally connected with toggle levers L, L, of which the toggle lever L is fulcrumed on a block L2 attached centrally to the solid portion of the shaft D, as plainly indicated in Fig. 1, and the free end of the other toggle lever L bears against a tubular cross head N, mounted to slide in the hollow shaft end D2. A spring O coiled in the hollow shaft end D2 presses against the cross had N in an inward direction, and the outer end of the spring O abuts against a hollow head P opening into t-he exhaust chamber F and attached to a screw rod P screwing in a boss F 2 forming part of the exhaust chamber F.

A handle Aor a hand wheel Pgis secured to the outer end of the screw rodP, to permit the operator to screw the screw rod P inward or outward, to increase or decrease the tension of the spring O and thus cause t-he cross head Nto exert more or less pressure' against the toggle levers L. Now by the arrangement described, the Yadmission valves J are normally held in an open position relative to the admission ports H by the action of' the vspri-ng O on the cross head N, toggle. levers L, L, links K and arms K attached to the shafts J3 of the admission valves J.

4When the engine, however, is rotating in the direction of the arrow a', then the admission valves 'J' swing outward? by cen- Y' y trifugal force, and in doingso their lugs J pass into the corresponding apertures of the adi'nission ports- H, to gradually close the same and thus govern the admission of the kmotive agent to the cavities A. Y Et ils understood that by graduating the.

lugsJ of the admission valves J, the apertures ofea-ch admission port H are grad- Siti LILO;

ually closed or opened, and henee'the admission of the motive agent is graduated accordi-ng to the speed of the engine.

of the sections of the rotor C is provided on its'peripheral face with exhaust groove Q, opening into the corresponding hollow arm D, the groovetermi- -and the rotor C rotates in the direction of the arrow a, then the live motive agent passes by way ofthe annular groove I into the admission chambers H and by way'of the admission ports H Vinto the cavities A in therear of theteeth of the rotor heads G, so

as to exert pressure against the said rotor heads to rotate the rotor C in the direction of the arrow a. As the teeth of the rotor heads areY turned and consequently the next following: tooth of a rotor head passes into the next Yfollowing cavity A, and when the 'sea tooth of a rotor head'G nears the end of a cavity, the exhaustv groove Q, connects with the rear end of this cavity, to allow the motive agent tofpass out ofthe cavity into the corresponding hollow arm D, and to pass from the latter by way of thehollow shaft end D2 into the exhaust chamber F andto the' exhaust rpipe VF.

VItis understood that when one of the cavities A 'isconnected'V with the exhaust groove Q31 then the next following cavity is aboutfhalf iilledwithv theV motive agent, and

when the rotor head( G 'has advancedoneninthofv a revolution more, the lirst cavity is half exhaustedwhile the secondcavity is just ready to exhaust and the third one is half filled with steam, and so on through the whole revolution of the rotor C, to cause the rotor C to turn in the direction of the arrow a. It will further be noticed that when the speed of the rotor C increases beyond a normal rate of speed, then the centrifugal admission valves J swing outward by centrifugal force and throttle the admission ports H until the speed of the rotor G is reduced to normal speed, and when this takes place, the valves J have returned to their normal position by the action of the spring pressure device governed by the spring O.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, provided on its inner surface with spiral cavities, and a rotor in the said cylinder and having heads in the form of rotary star wheels in meshing contact with the said cavities, the said rotor having means for controlling the admission of the motive agent to the said cavities.

2LVV A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder provided at its inner surface with spiral overlapping cavities, a rotor within the said cylinder and having admission ports leading to the said cavities and connected with a motive agent supply, revoluble heads on the saidrotor and in engagement with the cavities, and centrifugal valves for controlling the said ports.

3. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, provided at its innersurface with spiral overlapping cavities, a rotor within the said cylinder and having admission ports leading to the said cavities and connected with a motive agent supply, revoluble heads on the said rotor and in kengagement with the cavities, centrifugalvalves for controlling the said ports, and a spring pressure device connected with the said valves to normally hold the same open. G advance in the cavities A", the rotor heads 4. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder provided at its inner surface with overlapping spiral cavities, a rotor within the said cylinder and vhaving admission ports" for supplying the cavities with live lmotive agent, the said admission ports being connected with a motive agent supply, the said rtor having exhaust ports at yits peripheral face and connected with a central exhaust chamber in the rotor, star wheels journaled on the said rotor and in mesh with the inner surfacev ofthe cylinder and its cavities,

and admission valves mounted on the rotor for controlling the said admission ports.

=5. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder provided at its inner surface with overlapping spiral cavities, a rotor within the said cylinder and having' admission ports for supplying the cavities with live motive agent, the said admission ports being connected With a motive agent supply, the said rotor having exhaust ports at its peripheral face and connected With a central exhaust chamber in the rotor, star Wheels journaled on the said roto-r and in mesh With the inner surface of the cylinder and its cavities, centrifugal admission valves mounted to swing on the said rotor and controlling the admission ports, and a spring pressure device mounted on the rotor and connected With the said admission valves.

6. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder provided at its inner surface with overlapping spiral cavities, a rotor Within the said cylinder and having admission ports for supplying the cavities With live motive agent, the said admission ports being connected with a motive agent supply, the said rotor having exhaust ports at its peripheral face and connected With a central exhaust chamber in the rotor, star Wheels journaled on the said rotor and in mesh With the inner surface of the cylinder and its cavities, centrifugal admission valves mounted to swing on the said rotor, arms on the pivots of the said valves, toggle levers fulcrumed on the rotor, links connecting the said toggle levers with the said pivot arms, and a spring-pressed cross head mounted to slide on the said rotor and engaged by the said toggle levers.

7. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, provided on its inner surface With overlapping spiral cavities, a rotor Within the said cylinder and having admission ports for supplying the cavities With live motive agent, the said admission port-s being connected With a motive agent supply, the said rotor having exhaust ports at its peripheral face and connected With a central exhaust chamber' in the rotor, star Wheels journaled on the said rotor and in mesh With the inner surface of the cylinder and its cavities, and admission valves mounted on the rotor for controlling the said `admission ports, each of the admission ports being formed of a plurality of apertures extending across the peripheral face of the rotor, and each admission valve having a plurality of graduated lugs for successively closing or opening the said apertures on rocking the admission valves.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES HENRY I/VATS ON.

Witnesses:

IsAAo E. Fons, CHARLES SWANsoN. 

